Half way there…
The 5 mile drive at Point Defiance Park is one of my favorite places on Earth! The other day my husband and I drove to the park to go for our run. However, as I was trying to lighten my load —I happened to leave the car key inside the locked vehicle. My very patient husband says, “No big deal, we’ll just run home and get the other set; it’s just 5 miles back to our house.” “Ya uphill,” I thought. Yet we had no other choice. So off we went. For the first part of the run, I was still thinking, “What a stupid thing to do…instead of running through the trails in the park, here we are inhaling the exhaust of the cars going by us on the uphill street.” I was in such a negative frame of mind and having a hard time snapping out of it. However, as we were running I noticed that we got to a place in the road that marks the half way point for our usual 5 mile route from our home; this meant we only had 2.5 miles to go. At this point, my thoughts changed: “We are half way there…oh this is easy, I can do this, I’ve done it countless times, no problem, let’s pick up the pace…” Even though I love to run, sometimes it requires a lot of self talk and a friend to pull me along.
The mental issues of fitness are fascinating. What motivates you? What keeps you in the game, on the trail, in the water, or at the gym? I would bet it’s one of two things, if not both: 1) The results (you feel better, look better, and are healthier), or 2) An exercise relationship (friends/ teammates/ coach). While clients will often tell me that they want to lift weights because they know they should, what I’ve come to realize is that it’s taking the first steps with a friend, a coach, or even a personal trainer(hint, hint: k.hillis.pt@gmail.com) that can get you started. Then the desire to try more and different exercises increases. And before you know it, you’re ‘half way there’ to the results that you hoped for.
